News

UAE Starts Relying On Emirates ID As Proof Of Residency

Both citizens and residents can look forward to a number of benefits, including easier access to government services, less time spent at airports, and more.

Published

4 years ago

April 19, 2022

David Morelo

uae starts relying on emirates id as proof of residency

UAE ICP

From April 11, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has started relying on Emirates ID as proof of residency, suspending the issuance of residence visa stamps.

Emirates ID is a smart identity card issued by Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship. All UAE citizens and residents must apply for it by filling the eForm at one of the authorized typing centers or through the online form available on website of Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship (FAIC).

Each Emirates ID has an electronic chip that can store up to 32,000 letters of information. The stored information can be encrypted in order to protect the privacy of card holders and prevent unauthorized third-parties from stealing it for malicious purposes.

By switching to a modern smart identity card, the UAE is taking yet another step on its smart-city journey. Both citizens and residents can look forward to a number of benefits, including easier access to government services, less time spent at airports, and more.

Those who have registered for smart gates at airports in the UAE can pass through them by simply looking at the green light on top of the camera to verify the biometric information contained within the Emirates ID chip.

Also Read: How To Change The Mobile Number On Your Emirates ID

The replacement of residence vista stamps by Emirates ID has been made possible by the last update of the advanced card, which was introduced in August 2021 by the Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship (ICA).

The update added several new features, including a laser-printed 3D picture, additional fields and codes definition, advanced technical characteristics, and increased data protection. The latest generation of Emirates ID cards is made using polycarbonate that should last more than 10 years and survive countless washing machine accidents and other horrors that cards typically go through.

News

Visa’s Return To Syria Starts With A Test And A Bank In Lebanon

Foreign visitors will be the first users to benefit, but whether Syria’s own banks and cardholders follow is still an open question.

Published

2 weeks ago

August 27, 2026

Dana Saadeh

visa's return to syria starts with a test and a bank in lebanon

Visa is returning to Syria. Its first live international card transaction in the country was a test rather than a launch, and the milestone event ran through a Lebanese bank.

The acquirer (the bank on the merchant’s side of a card payment) was Fransabank Lebanon, with Paymera as the other named partner. Nadim Moujaes, who heads a Fransabank Group subsidiary, describes the test as both the culmination of “longstanding efforts to link Syria back to international payment networks” and “the first step in a larger path”.

Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa makes the first electronic payment in Syria using a @Visa card at a store in Damascus, following the lifting of US sanctions on Syria. pic.twitter.com/lpAN7nQ6Fc

— Tech Magazine (@TechMGZN) August 27, 2026

“We are excited to have successfully tested live transactions today as we plan to enable international visitors to use their Visa cards while in Syria,” says Leila Serhan, Visa’s senior vice president and group country manager for the North Africa, Levant and Pakistan region. Although a significant first step, that plan doesn’t come with a hard date for when a visitor’s card will work normally.

Mohammed Safwat Raslan, governor of the Central Bank of Syria, says the test paves the way for international card acceptance in Syria and that maintaining strong compliance, risk management and operational controls will remain essential. Serhan likewise stresses that Visa has worked within applicable legal, regulatory and compliance requirements. For a test transaction, it seems there was a great deal of attention paid to the rules, with the entire operation being carefully managed.

Also Read: Lebanon’s 5G Era Begins With 150 Stations And A $1M Budget

The test is the latest step in a sequence that began in December 2025, when Visa announced a strategic roadmap to support Syria’s integration into the global digital economy. In February 2026 it hosted its first industry gathering of banks, ecosystem partners and policymakers in Damascus and, the same month, signed an agreement with Syria’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology in San Francisco.

Michel Kattouah, Paymera’s CEO, called the test “the return of international card acceptance,” but while that’s positive news, there’s no word yet on when a Syrian bank will issue a Visa card to a Syrian customer.